I remember reading about NZ spinach in an old book by Lawrence Hills of HDRA fame. Have not tried it. I hadn't heard of Incaberries though, but I understand it's another name for Cape Gooseberries or Physalis. I might have mentioned the plant that grew out of the broken drain at the back of our old lab. It fruited wonderfully...

Yes that's right re Inca Berries. Things in drains etc. i.e. places you definitely haven't put them often seem to do well. I remember a tomato plant springing up in one in a corner of Tom Quad, Christ Church. Of course it got pulled up before it could fruit. I found some potatoes growing in the front garden at the weekend.

I've never done terribly well with daleks. We have now got three wooden bays, each about 1.2 cubic metres. Two are used for compost and one for leafmould. We empty one of (finished) compost around now, then turn the second one into it, so the new stuff from the second bay is at the bottom and the more rotted at the top, plant marrows on it, then use the newly emptied second bay for the next heap.

I use daleks on the plot, four of them. Their main advantage seems to be that the grass snakes and slow worms like them. They don't rot down chunky stuff too well I find, so woody bits and thick stems (brassicas, sweetcorn) are brought home, shredded and composted in the bigger bays.

I'm quite happy with my daleks, easy to move about or stack if empty. I do water them periodically and remove the lids to help stuff breakdown as i do think they are slower to rot stuff than other types.

I decided to go down that route. £13 vs £200...Also ordered a slim line water butt for the front of the house. I hope we can squeeze it in.

I think Basil might be losing his sun trap beehive bin too...

I noticed, this morning, that some of my peas are flowering... the ones I haven't potted out yet, so I just went and bought some peas stops from Leather Lane, and will put them out tonight. My nematodes arrived too. So no (few) excuses now...

I spent about 5 hours working in the garden today, a sizeable proportion of which was setting up this: (including carting 7 bags of compost down the garden.) I ran out of strawberry plants...

The long stemmed ones look a bit silly...

I potted up and out about 60 plants today, I think - apart from strawberries, beans, peas, and yesterday, broad beans (with summer savoury) tomatoes and other things and one flowering plant! Feeling virtuous (and achy!) I also prepared a raised bed for summer psb. (Not sure if I want to bother with it now after the spectacular failure of the winter psb, but I might as well give it a go. Need to get some netting though.)

Can anyone tell me what I may or may not be doing wrong with my chilli plant? I was given it a year ago and got lots of fruits from it. So far this year I have had one red chilli. Lots of blossom but sad looking leaves some days. I don't think I am over or under watering and since the house move it remains on a bright windowsill, the only difference being it has a much bigger window and gets the afternoon sun as opposed to morning. I feed it every two weeks. It seems to perk up a bit when watered from below but still it drops lots of blossoms before they have a chance to fruit.

It's not quite reached pinterest/instagram quality (yet?) Tezza! I need to get hold of a lot more strawberry plants. I am wondering what to put on the top levels. The soil doesn't go through to the core on that level so there are only a few of centimetres.

Your chilli plant looks pretty healthy to me. You could try a bit of gentle hand pollination with a small paint brush.

Fab looking planter Herbi , I have planter envy What about some salad leaves or nasturiums for the top as they don't need much soil?Tezza you could try refreshing the compost, if it's been in the same pot for a while it might have used all the nutrients. I always find doing that gives them a better boost than plant food. I agree with the hand pollinating though a cotton bud works well if you don't have a thin paintbrush.Courgettes and the second batch of peas and beans planted in there final tubs today. The rhubarb crown I planted on Saturday has sprung to life, I wasn't completely sure I had planted it the right way up

Sounds good ltc. Not yet potted my courgettes (or indeed anything) into their final big pots.

How long will you mange to keep off your rhubarb?! I was good and waited until the second year after I planted mine The ones in my raised bed have not done so well this year. (Year 3) The plant in my border is magnificent. (Year 4)

I have been a bit itchy today and realize that I have sustained 5 massive bites. I never used to get bitten when I was younger...

How long will you mange to keep off your rhubarb?! I was good and waited until the second year after I planted mine The ones in my raised bed have not done so well this year. (Year 3) The plant in my border is magnificent. (Year 4)

I have been a bit itchy today and realize that I have sustained 5 massive bites. I never used to get bitten when I was younger...

I'm not expecting to get much from it next year though hopefully I can pick a few stalks. It was a bit of an impulse buy and only a few quid so I'm not looking for masses, though enough to make rhubarb gin would be nice Ive not been bitten but I've horrible prickly heat so covered in calamine, not had an outbreak in years though I used to get it lots when I was in my teens, all I can say is bl**dy menopause has a lot to answer to.....

Chillies need sunshine. Lots of it; they´re tropical plants. Too much water and the roots will rot; in fact, if you starve them of water a bit, they grow hotter. I´ve just transplanted some Habanero chiles , some Rocoto chiles and some Tabaquero chiles I got in Mexico. Have to see how they manage in the local climate; it may be too damp for them.

Ok, thanks Clive. I think based on what's been said already, I will leave it alone for a couple of days, renew the compost and see how it looks after that. It's so hard isn't it to know if you have under or over watered. Probably comes from experience. This is my first chilli plant (it's took me long enough ) so let's hope I can keep it going!

Clive's right, they definitely don't like to be overwatered. Only water it when the pot feels light but don't flood it.If you are going to pot it on the pot size should be half the height of the plant (so a third of the overall height) and just put a little compost in the bottom of the new pot and drop the (unpotted) plant on top and fill round the sides with new compost.One of the best ways to pollinate the flowers of a self fertile plant - like chillies, beans and peas is to use a sonic (or electric) toothbrush. Even though the plant no longer uses insects the vibration mimics that of a bee and shakes the pollen into the stigma.

Interesting about the toothbrush! Looking at the plant from afar right now i think the pot could be upgraded with a slightly bigger one. I am definitely going to take on board the not overwatering it tip. I'll continue to keep an eye on it.

I have worked really rather hard today - started at 9.30 (?) and kept going until 6 with just a short break. There's still a lot to do, but 11 of the tomato plants have been put into their final pots, one courgette into a 'bigger' pot ('oasesbox') 5 tromboncini/cucumbers into oasesboxes, and two into 'proper' pots.

I ran out of cloth wicks to do the rest of the tomatoes, although I also have another self watering pot that doesn't need one. But I ran out of energy.

Planted out summer psb too, and set up a criss cross affair with canes, in the hope to stop animals digging them up - I have a nasty suspicion that the prepared bed has been used as a toilet - and earthed up my potatoes and done a lot of watering.

I am really not sure about these Oasesboxes. There isn't much room for soil in them. Their inventor seems to think that water is more important (presumably water with plant food in it). Because the soil container is funnel shaped, you can't really put canes in them either. I had got them for tomatoes, but after planting out one and realizing this, decided to put curcubits and one courgette as a trial in instead - the climbers have been positioned around a robust obelisk.

Anyway. I have small courgettes on my plants, several of the tomato plants are in flower. I've been eating a few leaves of rocket every time I go past the planter. I have nibbled on a gooseberry (not quite ready ) and alpine strawberries. The first of the proper strawberries will be ready in a day or two. The cherries (several on one tree, none on the other) are nearly ripe. Wonder if I will be able to eat one before the birds get them all. I suppose it's not too late to net.

Hmm everything is my raised bed is doing poorly. Straggly peas, dying sweetcorn. And one of the curcubits I put in an oasesbox seems to be dying. Really not sure what the problem is. Maybe I put too much iron phosphate slug bait down? Slugs are still eating things over night but not as much as they would without it, I think.

Artichokes are infested with black aphids - I have squirted with a washing up liquid solution. Interestingly the broad beans are not (yet?!) even though they are near the artichokes. The broad beans are planted with summer savoury.

I am feeling rather discouraged. So much work has gone into it all. And quite a bit of money.

Meanwhile the birds are having a go at my strawberries and they decided not to wait until the cherries were ripe, this year, before eating them. I may get 5... I may not. (They are netted now.)

I will pot on as many more tomatoes as I can this weekend and put out some more beans. Maybe sow some more peas in plastic mini crates, then I am hoping it's just going to be watering and feeding for a while now. And, of course, harvesting I hope...

Herbi, if it's any consolation I seem to have varying hit & miss stuff every year. So far most are doing well except radishes, watercress & my second batch of peas- first batch are doing great. Think our very hot weather is impacting on those! Two of my four cues are surging on but the other two are lagging- they look healthy enough just much smaller.My friends brought me the promised New Zealand spinach plants at the weekend what a strange looking plants. They also brought me a couple of kalette plants I'm not sure how they will do in tubs but fingers crossed.I have my first tomato fruit

I emptied the Oasesboxes of water and ordered more cucs. Not the same variety though. I think I may get lots of different basils for the oasesboxes

We have cut back and down various things to make more light for the raised bed now. Next year I will make sure I dig the manure in properly and not rely on worms. Might also move rhubarb as the patch it’s in (and which it is almost filling) gets more light than the other raised bed.

Need to bring a couple of Cape Gooseberry plants into the coveted lean to to see if they do better there.

I made my own prototype single Quadgrow (Unogrow?!) yesterday. May experiment with more when I can get a chauffeur (aka husband) to take me to a hardware shop. .

Just picked over seven and a half pounds of goosegogs from my one Hinnomaki Yellow gooseberry bush ... we don't need any jam ... hope there's room in the freezer for them all ... we all love gooseberries and my poorly SIL loves them especially ... I've sent a pic to him and promised him a crumble to cheer him up.

I like them as a compote with yoghurt for breakfast. My son in law (who is poorly at the moment) absolutely loves Gooseberry crumble, and we all love a good Gooseberry Fool .... I shall freeze them all (if I can find the space in our little freezer). I won't make jam this year as we still have some left from the last lot ... we don't eat a lot of jam.

I thought I'd mention that, following various tips on here somewhere, my indoor chilli and mint plants are doing very well on my kitchen windowsill. The mint has to keep being cut back as it tries to take over, and almost daily I am finding the starting a of a new chilli fruit.

I had a good look at the garden today because I´m off to the US of A for 3 weeks and need to make sure everything is in good shape. 1) Cape Gooseberries producing fruit like mad.2) Two different Mexican beans growing well ( one is a huge purple bean - which is divine - and the other is a black and white bean)3) Potatoes have sprouted leaves.4) Chiles are producing. I´m not absolutely sure how many varieties I have to be honest. Probably four or five, including Habaneros and a Mexican variety I brought back over Christmas called " Tabaquero".5) Tomatillos need transplanting into bigger pots tomorrow.6) Three varieties of tomato growing beautifully.7) Herbs ( parsley, rosemary, purple basil, thyme, mint , huacatay - a Peruvian herb which is gloriously aromatic - and oregano) - fine.8) Ginger going mad. Turmeric growing.

The only disappointing item is the mango tree. It produced a billion flowers.... and then, nothing. I might get 10 kgs of mango from a 15 metre tree !

My garden is finally beginning to produce, though runner beans have been slow to set, I've only one cucumber so far and my salad & pak choi have bolted but everything else seems to be enjoying the heat . It is so wonderful to be able to pop out to the veg patch and pick veg for dinne-r makes it all worth it

I have now finished with peas (although here are some mangetout left to pick), the dwar fFrench beans - non dwarf ones to come - green and purple varieties I think. Broad beans nearly done (I didn't grow many)I have started offering courgettes to colleagues...Sweetcorn - some just green, tall and leafy, other runty ones have something maize like going on. (I shall do them 'properly' next year as opposed to half heartedly and dilettantishly.)The tromoboncini are fruiting but very slow - the cucumber, which is with them, seems to have got 'stuck'. Too much in the shade, I think. Soft fruit ticking over but never enough in one go to actually make anything, alas. V cross that gardener pruned my raspberries!!! Suggests that she does not know what she is doing?

I have a lot of different tomatoes Some are stripy. (I lost the labels for one order so don't know what's what.) Probably tigerella. Two of them are orange en route to being red, so will be ready soon. I hope they are not all ready when I am about to go on holiday next week. (probably!)

Summer psb doing ok but need to feed. Artichokes very slow. Probably not feeding enough. Doubt they will fruit this year - saw fruiting ones in a public display in Karlruhe the other weekend. But you never know.

I have a few runty vampire chillis from last year in spite of total neglect.

Elephant garlic is flowering (gardener weeded out two of those too )

One lot of potatoes are flowering.

Cape gooeseberries - the two inside are quite big but no sign of flowering. The outdoors ones are small by comparison.

Here we have nearly 3 kg of gooseberries in the freezer and two dozen Cos lettuces have been eaten ... all the tomato trusses are filling up nicely but nothing ready yet, sweetcorn cobs beginning to appear (winter psb is hiding in the sweetcorn forest), golden beetroot Boldor are producing well, Swiss chard is good too, still picking mange tout, picking at least 4 courgettes daily (var. Romanesco) from two plants, the runner beans are full of flowers and looking promising and the blueberries are beginning to ripen

We've stopped pulling rhubarb now for this year, the herbs are fantastic (rosemary, basil, French tarragon, thyme, oregano, marjoram, fennel, spearmint and applemint and chives) and the grape flowers are setting fruit and looking very good yet again.

My herbs are doing ok too in spite of the lack of rain and me watering them much. But that's what herbs do, I guess?

What should I do to improve my gooseberry crop next year, do you think Suffolk? More water, fertilizer, mulch...? One went in two years ago, and the other last year. They are still very small bushes.

My blueberries did nothing this year. Are yours in the ground? Even my one in ericaceous compost in a pot, that was fed appropriately, did nothing. Well, one blueberry which I discovered all dried up yesterday! The one in the ground produced a few last year.

I discovered some marjoram coming up in my potted bay plant last year, and that's come up again The sages are doing really nicely in spite of the slugs loving it (and hiding under the plants.) My lovage died, though, before I had chance to put it in the ground (because I didn't get round to it...) Summer savory is doing ok, but it seems to need looking after quite a bit. It's all still in pots. I did lose 3 plants though. And I got black aphids on the broad beans in the end (but not a big problem really.)